Does the word “mindfulness” conjure up an image of a barefoot yogi sitting cross-legged on a mat, palms open to the sky and eyes closed in blissful contemplation? Or do you think it smacks of New Age healing, along with crystals and vortices? You’re not alone.

Although mindfulness practices have their roots in Buddhism, their secular applications have been gaining considerable empirical credibility in recent years. Research has shown practicing mindfulness can reduce stress; help in coping with chronic pain and illness; bolster the immune system; promote willpower and self-control; prevent relapse in depression; improve tolerance for anxiety and other negative moods; and even change the brain structures involved in learning, memory, and attention.

So, what is mindfulness?

“Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”—Jon Kabat-Zinn 

Mindfulness is both a practice and a state of mind. Most of us move through our days at a hectic pace, rushing from one task to another or trying to accomplish too many things at once, often without noticing what we’re doing. Life can seem like nothing more than a never-ending To Do list when we’re going through the motions of our daily existence on autopilot.

By practicing mindfulness, we can learn to shift mental gears out of autopilot and into a state of conscious, intentional awareness of whatever we’re experiencing in the moment. This state of mind is called “being mode.” Its antithesis is called “doing mode.”

I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions about mindfulness.

•Mindfulness isn’t a relaxation method, although practicing mindfulness may be relaxing.

•Mindfulness isn’t emptying your mind of thoughts.

•Mindfulness isn’t just a form of meditation, although meditation is one form of mindfulness practice.

•Mindfulness isn’t a mystical experience. You can be mindful and feel transcendent. But you can also be mindful and feel sad, bored, or frustrated. The most mundane, ordinary activities can present opportunities to practice mindfulness.

•Mindfulness isn’t a technique, although regularly practicing a variety of techniques for cultivating awareness can help you enter a state of mindfulness.

•Mindfulness doesn’t relieve you of suffering or make you happy, But it can help you become aware of thought patterns and reactions that contribute to distress. 

If you decide to try practicing mindfulness, let go of your expectations and approach it with curiosity. Just try it for awhile, and see what it’s like. Open yourself up to the experience, however it may feel to you. That’s mindfulness.